


waiting for you to catch me

by majikhara



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Businessman Kageyama Tobio, Feelings Realization, Graffiti, Graffiti Artist Hinata Shouyou, Kageyama Tobio Wears Glasses, Light Angst, M/M, Married Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Meeting Your Crush After Dark, Minor Miya Atsumu/Sakusa Kiyoomi, Secret Identity, Suit Porn, Thirsty Hinata Shouyou, Vandalism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:14:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29100831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majikhara/pseuds/majikhara
Summary: Hinata is an art school dropout. By day, he's a simple barista, but by night he is Sy∅, a mysterious figure known for vandalism and mayhem. He's so far remained uncaught by authorities, until one fated night when he finally meets his match.
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 18
Kudos: 63
Collections: Kagehina Exchange





	waiting for you to catch me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MajesticAnna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MajesticAnna/gifts).



> Hi Anna! The prompt I chose was this one:
> 
> "Meet-cute where Hinata isn't where he's supposed to be and Kageyama catches him."
> 
> I hope you like it :D
> 
> If anyone is looking for musical accompaniment for this, I listened to CKY's album ["Infiltrate-Destroy-Rebuild"](https://open.spotify.com/album/4oeifIN990oyvL0uMBDNVi?si=ZQH5QoS6QPuNeQeMSO2MNg) on a near loop when writing.
> 
> An immense thank you to my dearest friend and beta Nuki, I couldn't have done this without your scolding about comma usage and grammar ilysm :'D

_"Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable." - Banksy_.

* * *

_shk shk shk_

_kshhhhh_

Hinata vigorously shook the can of spray paint he was holding, _damn_ he thought to himself, the can was almost empty, and he is just shy of finishing his latest piece. There had been near-constant interruptions every night he had been working on this, but tonight was the night he could finally finish it. Surprisingly, no one had managed to find it yet, and his work remained undiscovered so Hinata could appreciate it at least until the paint dried.

His movements are fluid and practiced. Spray painting has been his hobby since his early teens, and there was nothing that calmed him down quite like the rush of tagging a government building.

_shk shk shk_

All he gets is a weak spray of paint. Much to Hinata's frustration, he only has to do the highlights, and then he's done. He swears under his breath, knowing he should have picked up some more paint, but couldn't buy paint in large quantities at the hardware store or he would draw unwanted attention. They'd flag him as an obvious tagger.

Hinata's tag name was Sy∅ , and his friends in the online community had lowkey roasted him for it, but 'Sho' was just a little too simple and could potentially be traced back to him (not that Sy∅ was any better).

Hinata suddenly heard footfalls approaching but was confident he could outrun whoever it was. He was so close to finishing that he could _taste it_ , and he sprayed once, twice, three more times, _just a little bit longer._

The footfalls quickened in pace, and Hinata felt a rush of adrenaline. Sweat was forming on his brow, and his heart pounded as the tension flowed through him, but he steadied his shaking hands and kept at his work, briefly glancing towards the mouth of the alley to make sure his getaway would be unhindered.

Abruptly, out of the corner of his eye, Hinata saw a tall man come around the corner of the alley, and he was approaching him with purpose, so he threw his paint in his bag and zipped it up; deciding it was time to bail.

"Hey!" a stern and gruff voice shouted at him. He cursed under his breath and slung his backpack quickly over his shoulder, dashing away from the man attempting to catch him; his heart hammered with anxiety.

No one had caught him yet, but there was always a _chance_ .

Since the city he lived in was densely populated, and the crime rate was reasonably high, there were regular patrols by local cops to curb the surge of crime in the area.

Every time Hinata had encountered anyone in this part of town, it had been one of these cops, but most of them were close to retirement and ridiculously easy to outrun.

_Easy._

_Hinata could do this._

He kept running and found he was exerting himself more than usual, but the man was somehow keeping pace with him. _Fuck_ he thought, _I can't get caught now._ He was just starting to build a name for himself. Granted, he was mostly a nuisance to the local police, but he'd like to be more than that. Hinata knew he'd never be _Banksy,_ but he wanted people to see his art. At least it would validate all the wasted time at his dead-end _Barista_ job.

His lungs burned, and despite his best effort, he could feel himself losing speed. The cop would soon catch him, and there was nothing he could do about it. _Shit._

The man slammed into him from behind and knocked him onto his stomach on the sidewalk. Hinata unquestionably bruised something as the man's weight fell on top of him.

Hinata twisted his body in an attempt to get away, but the other man was stronger, and Hinata could feel the fight drain out of him in exhaustion. He laid there, catching his breath; he could smell tobacco from the discarded butts on the sidewalk and felt gravel against his cheek, shivering from the cold as he waited for the man to arrest him.

The only things Hinata could hear were the pounding of his own heart and the laboured breathing of the man on top of him.

Hinata waited another moment before he turned his head and cocked an eyebrow at the man behind him; he couldn't make out much of the man's face but could tell that the man had sleek black hair. He looked to be at a loss and confused that Hinata was lying on the ground beneath him like he hadn't expected to catch Hinata. He imagines that the handcuffs will probably pinch his wrists, but the feeling of cold metal and pain never comes.

Hinata finds himself confused when the man stands up and offers him a hand without yelling at him to desist and reading him his rights.

Hinata rolls over onto his side and gets to his knees, momentarily cautious until he reaches up and grabs the man's hand; his hand is soft, and unlike Hinata's, he doesn’t have any calluses. He quickly pulls Hinata up from his position on the ground with relative ease.

Hinata dusts himself off, assessing his clothes. He would have some tears in the knees of his jeans and hoodie and could feel some bruises forming, but remained relatively unscathed.

He finally gets a good look at the man who caught him, and his breath catches just a little bit; he was so used to old local cops chasing him that he's surprised to see a man his age standing there. His skin almost glows underneath the streetlights, and the hollows of his cheeks were shadows in the dim lighting. Hinata can't tell what colour his eyes are because of the man's glasses, but they did reflect momentarily; they might be _grey? Dark blue_ ?

Hinata raises his arms, placing his hands atop his head, still unsure of what to do.

"Are you a cop or something?" he mused. He could make a break for it at any point but was vaguely curious about what this man's deal was.

The man cleared his throat, puffing his chest out to seem a little more intimidating, but he falters a little.

"I-I'm with the police...what you did is… um."

Hinata watches as the man's expression goes from confused to positively flustered.

"Illegal?" Hinata offers. _What was happening right now?_

"Yes!" the man nods, somehow resolute that he has the upper hand.

His response surprises a loud laugh out of Hinata. He couldn't contain it anymore, and maybe he was tired, but this was getting ridiculous. The man grumbles under his breath and adjusts his glasses.

"Do you know how much money you've cost the city in property damage? You're a regular topic of interest at the station." and Hinata thought it might be a trick of his ear but could have _sworn_ he heard the man chuckle a little bit.

" _Listen_ , am I under arrest or something?" Hinata asks, his voice impatient, but he receives no reply; the man looks thoughtful for a second, and then turns around, seemingly with the intent to walk away.

"That one might be your best one _yet_ ," the man says quietly as he walks away, "Tonight was just another quiet night, I didn't see anything", and then he turns the nearest corner and vanishes from sight.

Hinata takes a few steps forward, watching the man's retreating figure, and is shocked for a moment but then steels himself before making a hasty retreat to the safety of his apartment.

* * *

Hinata's alarm wakes him with a start the next morning, and he feels sore and exhausted. He was so drained from the night before that he didn't have the energy to put his paints away or even shower when he got home, just changed into his pyjamas and collapsed into bed. He had not yet taken the time to absorb the gravity of the situation, he barely escaped being arrested.

He groaned into his pillow and took a glance at his alarm clock; It reads 1:00 pm. His shift at the coffee shop was at 3:00 pm, so he still had a bit of time to wake up before he needed to head out.

Hinata sits up and slaps both of his cheeks and heads immediately for the shower; he turns the water on and takes an opportunity to assess his new injuries from last night in the mirror as the water heats up. He has a few scrapes on his knees and bruises on his elbows and hips where he had landed, but thankfully, nothing was broken, and he only had a small scratch on his cheek so no one would ask too many questions.

When he steps into the shower, he stands under the water stream for a long while to ease his muscles' soreness. Hinata wasn't as young as he once was and found that the cold weather tended to seep into his joints and muscles, and the injuries exacerbated that somewhat.

The severity of what happened last night was weighing on Hinata, now that he had time to process everything.

Did the man recognize him?

Would he seek him out again?

But the biggest question on Hinata's mind was, _why did he let me go?_ The man had no reason to let him go; why would he? _Especially_ if he cost the city a lot in damages.

 _Oh well_ , he thought and gave himself a quick lather, clicking the shower off once he had rinsed all the shampoo from his hair. He towels off, wrapping the towel around his hips and leaves the bathroom in search of clothes. He opens his dresser and pulls on the first underwear, socks, jeans, and hoodie he can find, and Hinata continues mulling it all over as he makes a quick breakfast and does a breathing exercise to calm himself down.

After he prepares breakfast and eats, it's just about time to head out for work, so he quickly checks his hair. His undercut was overdue for a shave, and he would have to book an appointment with Miwa-san soon, or she'd lecture him about personal maintenance again. Once he's satisfied his hair is appropriately textured, he grabs his keys and coat and heads out to the coffee shop he has worked at for the past eight years.

As he steps outside, the weather is maybe a little cooler than he anticipated but Hinata enjoyed days like this; sunny but a little crisp on his skin.

Hinata had moved to Tokyo away from Miyagi when he was 20 and when he thinks about who that boy was, he can scarcely recognize himself anymore.

He had moved here with the intent of studying art but had dropped out in the first semester, much to his parents' dismay. He’d told them he just needed a year to figure things out, and one year had quickly turned into eight.

He knew that he had disappointed his parents after having so much potential in art throughout his entire school career. They had expected him to become a very successful artist or architect, but academics just _wasn't_ for him. None of his methods meshed with the other students and defining what _was_ and _wasn't_ art just seemed far too elitist for Hinata’s tastes. If he had to listen to one more sweater-vest wearing idiot tell him that art was only for those with _skill_ , he would snap.

For Hinata, Art wasn't something to be studied under a microscope. It was supposed to be fun, and give you an outlet to express yourself and _connect_ with others.

 _Strength is being free_ he thinks to himself,

It's a reminder to never regret any decision he has made to get to this point. At times, life had been difficult, but it had also been excellent. Hinata never did anything he didn't want to do, and he could afford a small apartment just for himself with no roommates, and with the tips he made at the cafe, he could afford a few new paints to add to his collection every month.

He nearly had the entire run of Krylon colours now, which was a silly thing to be proud of, but honestly, Hinata never felt more alive than when he was out tagging.

The danger of nearly getting caught, the smell of the aerosolized paint, the silence (and risk) of being out alone at night, it was all so _intoxicating_ .

As he walks home, he idly opens his Instagram and checks only one account, the same one he checks every day, hoping there would be a new post, but there hasn't been a new one since December 22, 2015.

Hinata held his breath and waited for Instagram to reload, and to no surprise, there was no new post; the sudden disappearance of the infamous graffiti artist _K4GE_ was one of the greatest mysteries in the underground scene. They had posted one final time, no goodbye or anything.

When Hinata first saw their work on social media one fated day, it had changed _everything_ for him. He had gone to a local coffee shop one night (yes, the one he worked at now) to work on his art school homework; during a moment of procrastination when scrolling his feed, that's when Hinata had seen it: the most beautiful art he'd ever laid eyes on.

 _K4GE's_ insta feed showed various graffiti styles, but their most popular ones were the incredibly detailed _Blockbuster_ styles. Hinata, who studied art, could barely tell what colours were used or how they could get so much detail with only spray paint, but he was transfixed.

Of course, he knew about graffiti; they learned a bit of theory on it in school, but it always came with a preface of 'if you're going to do it, do it legally with murals,' Hinata had rolled his eyes at that. The real spirit of graffiti art was about self-expression, which included the thrill of _almost_ getting caught.

He found his focus slipping for a few days after that in class. One night, on his way home, he had decided to stop into the local hardware store and pick up some Krylon spray paint. It was just a simple can of white to start, but it seemed like the right shade for a starter.

That night he spent hours agonizing over his sketchbook for what his _tag_ would look like, eventually deciding on simple block letters, went out the next night and tagged an abandoned building he had scouted on his walking commutes to art school. He had gotten paint on almost every piece of clothing he had on, but he _loved_ it.

* * *

He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed down the block to the local coffee shop where he works; _Memento Mori,_ owned and operated by a local coffee roaster by the name of _Sakusa Kiyoomi._

It took a very long time for Hinata to win over his boss, but slowly, Sakusa opened up to him, and Hinata found that he was actually quite funny under his prickly exterior.

After a few years of working together, Sakusa had let slip that hiring Hinata was his greatest decision because Sakusa wasn't good with people and if he didn't have to handle people's money _or_ deal with their constant chit chat that was fine with him. On more than one occasion, Hinata had found a necessity left in his work cubby. Often it was something as simple as his favourite snack but on occasion, he would find something more substantial like a nice pair of leather gloves, or a new winter hat. Hinata felt glad that he had a friend so thoughtful.

As Hinata walks into the shop, he's greeted by the smell of freshly ground coffee and buttery, freshly baked pastries; the scent of _home_ .

He quickly hangs up his coat and bag, then grabs his apron. Sakusa had taken it upon himself to embroider his employees' names on their aprons instead of using name tags. Hinata nodded to Sakusa before heading to the front of the shop and greeting his coworker with a great big yawn and a small wave.

"Didja forget to sleep last night or somethin'?" his coworker says in a teasing tone, nudging Hinata and he grumbles back at him.

His coworker, _Miya Atsumu_ , is an out of work animator and had quickly become one of Hinata's closest friends since they always worked the evening shifts together and could commiserate about being art school drop-outs.

"Mmm, had a hard time falling asleep, but nothing some coffee won't fix," Hinata replies, starting work on a double shot of espresso for himself.

Another perk of the job was that Sakusa gave them free rein to drink as much coffee as they wanted (within reason), and they were also given creative freedom to make a new speciality drink every month.

Hinata leans back for a moment and sips at his double shot of espresso as soon as he can, maybe scalding himself a little, but he needs the caffeine to shake off the tiredness from the stress of what happened the night before.

"Hey hey hey!" a voice came booming out from the back of the shop, _ah yes_ , Hinata's _other_ regular coworker, Bokuto Koutarou.

"Bokuto-san!" Hinata greets him warmly, giving him a fierce high five.

Bokuto works the day shift, and was a retired volleyball player who had just started a few months ago as a 'way to cut the boredom.' But, Atsumu had told Hinata that Akaashi, Bokuto's husband, had convinced Bokuto to get a fun job so that he could get some of his own editing work done during the day because otherwise, Bokuto was a constant distraction.

Suddenly it made more sense how many times Bokuto-san started a conversation with "Keiji said…" Hinata personally found it adorable, but he often heard Atsumu make retching sounds if Bokuto-san happened to say an incredibly mushy thing about his relationship with _Keiji._

Hinata's shift was about to start, so he brought up a tray of sweets from the back and placed them inside the display, adjusting his apron, ready to begin his shift. He walks over and waits behind the large espresso machine for customers to start wandering in; today was Hinata's turn to make drinks while Atsumu took the orders.

The bell on the door chimes sooner than Hinata expects, since the afternoon rush isn’t for another hour or so and a tall man walks into the cafe, glancing around before promptly heading up to the counter to order.

He walks with a practised grace, dressed impeccably in a neat, navy suit, with a grey shirt, dark blue tie and horn-rimmed glasses sat atop his long, elegant nose. He looks a little intimidating like he has a controlled rage simmering just below the surface of the neutral face he puts on.

The man takes a long moment to look over the menu until Atsumu cuts in with his usual coffeeshop spiel. Hinata freezes as _soon_ as the first word leaves the man's lips.

"A medium latte, extra hot, please," the man asks in a deep, measured tone.

Hinata's eyes snap up immediately, and he stares at the man; there's _no way_ it could be the same man from last night.

He _was_ tall.

He _did_ have shiny black hair _._

_He had a deep voice..._

Hinata shook his head, shaking off his suspicions.

"Can I get a name for the cup?" Atsumu asks, tone neutral, waiting with his marker in hand.

"Kageyama," the man answers, nodding and adjusting his glasses carefully before heading over to stand next to the drink pickup station, near where Hinata was working.

Hinata steams the milk extra long to make sure it's nice and hot before carefully blending it into the freshly brewed espresso. He makes a simple design on the top before covering it with a lid and sliding it across the counter, noting that the man's eyes are burning into him as he brings the cup up to his lips and takes a small drink, eyes widening at the hotness.

He gives Hinata a pleased nod and then walks out of the cafe and is gone.

Hinata cleans his milk steaming pitcher and tosses out the used espresso, and when he returns to the machine, Atsumu is eyeing him with a cocky grin on his face.

"Do you… _know_ that guy?" he asks, poking Hinata in the side and wiggling his eyebrows at him.

* * *

"No? Don't you know? All _my_ friends are losers," Hinata replies, smirking back at him. Atsumu gasps like he's deeply offended, putting Hinata in a headlock, eventually yielding when Hinata taps his arm but not before both of them laugh their heads off and take a moment to dust themselves off.

"Seriously, though—" Atsumu began, "That guy was _eye fuckin'_ you."

"T-that guy?! He was probably just making sure I made his drink _properly_ —you know how those _business_ guys are," Hinata replies, a bit flustered at the thought of _that man_ ogling him.

Atsumu rolled his eyes in understanding. Working at the coffee shop was both a blessing and a curse based on the day. They had a lot of regulars they loved, but also a lot that they hated.

The rest of the shift was relatively dull, and they cleaned and locked up with no fuss. Hinata said goodbye to Atsumu and began his trek home; he had pretty much shaken the nerves of being caught and wanted to check in on his work to see if it had gotten covered up or not.

He took a small detour on his way home and looked around the building where his tag was. As he approached, he could see that someone had painted some graffiti next to his; it's not like this was uncommon, but it was bizarre considering how quickly it had gone up.

His piece was still there, and when he took a moment to study the graffiti next to his - _he suddenly can't breathe._

Hinata rubs at his eyes as if to wake from a dream, but no, this is real; he is still by himself; next to an abandoned building after11 pm, on a weekday.

The tag next to his was from none other than _K4GE._

It was _possible_ that someone was trolling Hinata by pretending to be the elusive graffiti artist, but Hinata is _dumbfounded_ . His mind races trying to figure out how this could have happened. Hinata had chosen this location because of its remoteness, and it was incredibly difficult to see from the main road. The likelihood of someone wandering by was incredibly slim and there had only been one other person who had seen Hinata put this tag up.

_That was another thing._

_Why_ was his art still here if the local police knew about it? He’d had a few run-ins with them before, and his graffiti was usually cleaned up within a day of it being found.

The last day and a half had already been stranger than normal, and now , and now this tag was here. If he was correct, and it was actually _K4GE_ who left the tag (after a five year long vanishing act); _why_ did they choose to make their comeback _now,_ and next to _his art._ Hinata didn't feel worthy of this privilege. Before he even knows what he's doing, Hinata has his phone out of his pocket and is taking a photo for proof he notices that _K4GE_ had gone so far as to complete the highlights that he didn’t have the chance to finish the night before. _It was perfect._

He gapes at it for a long time, but eventually moves his feet from where he's frozen to head home. While walking to the main street, Hinata swore he could hear footsteps walking away from him.

* * *

That night, Hinata's sleep was constantly disrupted by the actual possibility of his idol not only _seeing_ his work but also choosing to tag _next_ to him after years of silence. The next day Hinata found himself running on autopilot, it was his turn on the register, which was good because it required less coordination, and he was feeling rather sluggish.

He leaned on the counter and rested his head on his folded arms until he heard the door chime. Atsumu elbowed him in the ribs, and gave him a smirk. The first customer of the day waltzed in. It was the man from yesterday, a different suit but still the same quiet grace as before.

"Hello, sir!" Hinata greeted, "Same order as yesterday?"

"Yes," the man replied, clearly surprised that Hinata could remember his order.

" _Kageyama_ , right?" Hinata asks, grabbing the cup and waiting for the man to nod before writing his name.

Hinata wrote the name in a fancy script on the cup. He paused at _Kage,_ which meant _shadow_ . Hinata glanced up at the man. There was absolutely no way that this businessman could be _K4GE,_ so he shook the thought from his head again; he was starting to get paranoid over this whole thing.

Hinata punches in his order, and rings him up and as Kageyama leans down to pay Hinata catches a whiff of his cologne. It’s a clean, woodsy scent with a hint of sandalwood and it’s not overpowering; Hinata _loves_ it.

Of _course_ he looks amazing _and_ smells nice too.

Hinata slides the cup over to Atsumu, who was already steaming the latte's milk. Hinata takes a moment to watch Kageyama this time; since Atsumu said the man was staring at him yesterday, it was only fair, _right_ ?

_Wrong._

The more Hinata studied _Kageyama_ , the more things he found attractive about him. He was tall and looked _impossibly good_ in his tailored suit, a soft grey today, he had large hands with long, graceful fingers, and all of his movements were purposeful and never wasteful. Today he had a bag with him, possibly a briefcase, but it was probably a laptop.

 _Was he going to stay and work here?_ Hinata thought to himself, and his suspicion was confirmed a moment later when Kageyama picked up his drink from Atsumu and walked over to a private corner table, pulling out a laptop, sketchbook and a few pens. He sits down, takes a sip of his latte and immediately gets to work, tapping away on his laptop. It was a quiet afternoon and the shop was empty of customers other than Kageyama, so Hinata took the opportunity to check his feed. The engagement on his most recent post was pretty good. He had only posted _his_ tag and not _K4GE's,_ because that wasn't his to post and it was something he'd keep to himself.

He received a new notification and barely smothered a gasp when he read it. Atsumu even looked up from his phone to eye Hinata with confusion; he read and reread it several times:

_K4GE just shared a new post._

With shaky hands he clicked it, and it was a photo of the same tag that was next to Hinata's on that abandoned building. Hinata searched the image for any indication that it was different, but it was identical; the caption under the photo read: _some things never change_ .

 _If_ this wasn't a hack, then his _graffiti idol_ just happened to come across his art and chose to tag next to it. _Is this real life?_ He thought this kind of thing only happened in inspirational sports movies, and didn't happen to real people, and definitely didn't happen to _Hinata Shouyou_ .

 _Some things never change?_ Hinata pondered. K4GE was known for being super cryptic, and fans had entire blogs devoted to trying to discover the identity of the artist, as well as breakdowns of their post captions and Hinata loved it. It added to the mystery.

He smiled and double-tapped the photo to like it; tapping the text input to leave a comment in the steady stream of other ones. Clearly, everyone was just as surprised as he was of the new post after five years of radio silence.

> **Sy∅** : _welcome back :)_

He clicked send and just as he pocketed his phone, he heard a ping across the shop. Glancing up from where he stood he saw _Kageyama_ check his phone and smirk, almost imperceptibly; after a short moment Hinata got another ping on his phone:

 _K4GE mentioned you in a comment @_ Sy∅

> **K4GE:** _thanks, Sy∅_

Hinata smiles widely at the reply, and then remembers the coincidence of the timing of Kageyama's message; it was a little weird, but everyone got texts at the same time all the time, so he didn't think much of it.

Hinata and Atsumu serve customers for the next hour and when there is a lull, Hinata decides to check in on Kageyama to make sure he isn’t left unattended during the afternoon rush that would start soon.

The cafe didn't have a policy that required customers to keep purchasing drinks to stay there, but clients usually appreciated it if you asked if they wanted a refill. It almost always encouraged people to come back and they usually tipped more in return in Hinata's experience.

He glanced over to Kageyama and waited for a natural stop in his work but when he didn't stop, Hinata decided he’d need to take a different approach. He walked towards Kageyama’s table and pretended to clean something nearby and cleared his throat in an attempt to get his attention.

Kageyama’s eyes dart to Hinata, and all that sharp focus is suddenly on him; Hinata’s mouth is suddenly dry over the intensity of his gaze, and he falters initially but catches his footing,

"D-do you want a refill, sir?" Hinata asks, awaiting a response _._

Kageyama's gaze softens a little and he nods.

"Yes, please," he says, reaching for his wallet to get the money for the drink and hands it to Hinata, their fingers brushing a little in the process.

Hinata walks back to the register and punches in the order again, retrieving the proper change and tucking it into his apron pocket to return to Kageyama. Atsumu is in the back readying pastries for the evening crowd, so he washes his hands and sets out to make the latte.

Hinata grabs a fresh mug from the shelf above him and starts his work, steaming the milk extra hot while the espresso brews. He empties the shots into it before tapping the steamed milk pitcher on the counter and readying himself to pour it into the espresso.

This was a good excuse to practice his latte art; he had been practising on people's take-out orders because they wouldn't see it anyway. His latest attempts have been to create a _dragon_ of all things, and there was just _something_ about Kageyama that enthused Hinata to impress him with his fancy artistry.

Did it help that this guy was also super hot? _Well._ It didn't _discourage_ Hinata's behaviour.

Hinata pours streams of the hot milk into the espresso, swirling gently, and manages to make a _perfect_ dragon pattern latte. He mentally congratulates himself and snaps a quick photo for the cafe's Instagram page before bringing it over to Kageyama's table; walking over carefully so as not to mess up the design.

Kageyama is engrossed in his work and doesn't see Hinata approach the table. Hinata silently places the mug beside him where he can easily reach it and sets his change down in a neat pile next to the drink. He sneaks a glance at what Kageyama is working on; he appeared to be deeply entrenched in sketching at the moment, and it looked to be floorplans? Maybe? Perhaps this _Kageyama_ was an architect or something.

Hinata begins walking back towards the register, not wanting to disturb Kageyama but is interrupted before he gets too far.

"Hey—thanks," Kageyama says softly, and Hinata turns back around, seeing that he's staring in surprise at his latte, clearly impressed by the work Hinata did.

"It's no problem," Hinata replies warmly, it always felt very nice to receive compliments.

"What's your name?" Kageyama asks, looking up at Hinata with a glint in his eye.

" _Me_ ? Oh, my name is Hinata." Hinata replies, smiling at Kageyama, a little nervous.

"Well... thanks, Hinata. _How_ did you do this?" he says, again engrossed in looking at the drink in front of him.

"Oh, well, that's a _secret_ ," Hinata replies cheekily, winking at Kageyama, but he just looks at him a little puzzled.

"Oh okay…" he replies, and it's apparent that he's ready to let it go and get back to his work but Hinata waves his hand in protest.

"I'm sorry, lattes are all a matter of careful milk pouring technique, that's all. I finally got the dragon down _today!_ " Hinata smiles proudly at that; his eyes shining. It was so cool to try new things and master them over time.

Kageyama glances at the change next to him, he stands and gives all of it to Hinata The bill he originally passed to Hinata was _not_ a small one so it was a sizable tip _just_ for a latte.

"Sir, are you sure?" Hinata sputters as the cash is placed carefully into his hand.

"Good art deserves to be appreciated," Kageyama replies, glancing down at Hinata briefly and giving him a once over before sitting back down. He goes back to his work, and Hinata takes that as his cue to leave; scampering back around the counter. He sees that Atsumu had seen whatever _that_ exchange had been between Kageyama and himself.

Atsumu gapes at him as he shoves the cash into his tip jar.

"What did ya _do_ while you were over there? Is he a sugar daddy or somethin'?" Atsumu asks, astonished at the amount of the tip.

Hinata elbows him roughly, silencing him, pulling Atsumu down to whisper in his ear.

"He told me ' _good art deserves to be appreciated'"_ and Hinata can feel a flush working its way up to his neck as he repeats _those_ words to another person. It seemed like such an intimate sentiment.

"Are you fuckin' _kiddin_ ' me?" Atsumu replies, groaning as if Hinata had told him an offensive story.

Between customers Hinata often finds himself glancing over to Kageyama who is working away on his laptop. He wonders at what kind of man Kageyama is; what does he do for fun?

What irritates him enough to wrinkle his brow?

Does he get all of his clothes dry cleaned or does he press them by himself?

Is he the type to keep his tie pushed all the way up, or does he loosen it towards the end of the day?

Hinata does get an answer to his last question when Kageyama removes his blazer. He gently hangs it over the back of his chair, loosens his tie and rolls up his sleeves before returning to his work.

Hinata finds himself staring at Kageyama a little more; something about Kageyama looking so casual when he’s been so put together makes Hinata feel flustered.

Disaster strikes when Kageyama tips his head back to finish his drink and exposes the long column of his throat, now more visible with his top shirt button undone.

Hinata is _so_ enthralled that fumbles and spills the entirety of the drink he was making on himself and the floor.

Atsumu laughs loudly at him and the customer at the cash register can't help but join in. Hinata ducked below the counter, his face burning with embarrassment. Once the laughter quiets Hinata stands up again and his eyes meet Kageyama’s before the other man glances away and continues his work. Hinata focuses on his own work again; it seemed like his tiny crush on Kageyama might be turning into an occupational hazard.

Kageyama stays a little longer but, around 5:30 pm he packs up his laptop and takes a moment to tighten his tie and shrug on his blazer. He nods to Hinata and leaves the shop, the bell chiming as the door closes behind him. Hinata is a little bit sad to see him leave but has a good feeling that he was likely to return.

* * *

Around 6 pm, Sakusa came out from the back of the shop; these days the shop pretty much ran itself but occasionally they had to get Sakusa to deal with particularly vile clients, and he didn't mince words with them.

"Good night Shouyou. _Atsumu."_ he said while shrugging on his coat before waving them goodbye and swiftly exiting the shop.

"Speaking of crushes…" Hinata snarked at Atsumu while he watched Sakusa's retreating figure and made kissy noises at Atsumu until he shushed him.

"He called you _Atsumu_ today… are you married now?" Hinata laughed.

Atsumu sighed and Hinata knew _that_ sigh well.

Atsumu and Sakusa had been playing cat and mouse for _years_ now, and most people would assume they only tolerated one another, but Hinata could see beyond that.

He could tell that they were both too stubborn to admit they had feelings for one another.

Sakusa had called Atsumu' Miya' for the first few years he worked there and had only _recently_ begun calling him _Atsumu._ Hinata just wanted the best for them and he knew they would get there eventually, but in the meantime it was like watching a really long soap opera with none of the plot payoff.

* * *

The rest of the evening at the shop was uneventful. After locking up and waving goodbye to Atsumu he headed out towards his apartment. Perhaps tonight he would watch a movie instead of going out tagging; his muscles were sore enough that a soak in the tub couldn’t hurt.

He mulled over his choices as he meandered back home, enjoying the quiet at this time of night The gentle hum of the streetlights, his own breathing and his footsteps the only sounds he could hear.

_Ping._

_Huh_ thought Hinata, _maybe Atsumu forgot something at the shop_ . Much to his surprise the notification wasn't from Atsumu, but rather a new DM. He quickly unlocked his phone, opened Instagram, and clicked the red dot over the DMs. Hinata felt his breath catch when saw that it was from none other than 'K4GE'.

_What the fuck?_

> **K4GE** : meet me at the skatepark at midnight and bring your kit

Hinata’s fingers shook as he typed out a reply

> **Sy∅** : how will i know it's you?

The answer was instant.

> **K4GE** : you'll just have to trust me

Hinata's heart hammered so hard in his chest, and his hands shook. He had direct contact with his idol, and this was the most exhilarating thing to ever happen to him.

He can’t help but run the rest of the way to his apartment and when he gets there he is gasping for air and takes a moment to catch his breath. Once he can breathe easy again and his thoughts clear a little he gets anxious; there was no chance Hinata was going to meet a stranger at this late hour, _was there?_

What if this was a scam? And he got abducted or something? Hinata shuddered at the thought of this being a creepy stranger that just happened to get a hold of a dead account.

Hinata’s stomach is in knots as he rereads the message, and came to the decision that he _had_ to see if this was the real deal. Hinata refused to pass up the opportunity of a lifetime because he was a little _scared._

He agonized over what to wear; he wanted to look cool but not _impractical_ . He tried on several outfits before settling on a pair of black joggers, a tight grey henley and a dark blue zip hoodie. _Perfect;_ it made him look cool, but _not_ like he was trying too hard.

He pulls on a beanie and checks his reflection before grabbing his gear and locking his apartment. As Hinata headed down to the local skatepark - he couldn’t help but feel excited. The park itself was an old and derelict one, so it was used as free real estate for local graffiti artists. They were able to hone their skills without being disturbed by the local police. It was a park he knew well since he’d been going there since he first moved to Tokyo. Hinata and his art school friends would often hang out there and drink late into the night; he felt a bittersweet pang of nostalgia since he didn’t talk to any of them anymore.

  
Hinata’s feet brought him there quicker than expected, and soon he found himself standing in the seemingly empty park.

Hinata squinted into the dark and groaned when he didn't immediately see anyone. Just as he was about to curse his own idiocity a tall man steps out of the shadows; making Hinata jump. He had been leaning behind a half-pipe and Hinata hadn't noticed him. Hinata is somewhat ashamed of the embarrassing squeak he makes.

The man laughs lightly under his breath,

"I thought you weren't gonna show," he says as he sauntered over to Hinata.

Hinata was quaking with anxiety now. This man certainly _looked_ the part of a semi-pro tagger. He was dressed head to toe in black and had a mask covering the bottom half of his face. There were goggles pushed up on his head and gloves on his long, slender fingers.

"Are you…?" Hinata started. He was certain he was vibrating with excitement, but ultimately a little apprehensive; this man was still a _stranger_ to him.

"You can call me K, _Sy∅"_ The other man raked his eyes over Hinata as if to study him. The moon makes his eyes glint and his black hair shines like a ravens wings.

Hinata finds himself liking the sound of K's voice; it was deep, and Hinata could almost feel the air around him rumble as he spoke.

"Okay, but...how do I even _know_ it's _you?"_ Hinata asked. He was a bit exasperated over this entire situation

He saw the spark of mischief in K's eyes and recognized the glint of challenge in it.

"How about a timed paint? I _know_ you follow my work, so you should be able to tell pretty quick, huh?"

_I know you follow my work._

Hinata flushed from head to toe. He had surely commented and liked every single post in _K4GE’s_ feed. _Of course_ you’d recognise someone’s username if they were constantly flooding your notifications _._

K got to work setting out his paints, laying a few on the ground in a systematic order. Hinata stared, transfixed for a surreal moment until he noticed K was staring back at him. He then jumped to get his spray paint out. His hands shook but after a few falling cans and a lot of rattling he managed to get everything set up; his can of orange spray paint in hand.

"Is 20 minutes long enough?" K asks, tossing his can into the air and catching it deftly.

Hinata nodded, and K clicked a button on his watch. The countdown began. Twenty minutes didn't leave a lot of time to waste, so Hinata decides on a block letter style to practice his clean lines. He sprays in lines and arcs, careful not to inhale the paint fumes; some nights he had terrible coughing fits depending on how long of a session he did. Sometimes he just got caught up in it and couldn't stop.

As K's watch beeps, they set down their paint and step back. Hinata is proud of the work he has done. He had _just_ managed to put the last highlight on.

Hinata glanced over at K's work finally and was _floored_ . In the short time he painted he had managed to paint a crow with shiny black wings, and a 'K' worked into the feathers; the detail he'd achieved in such a short time was _astounding_ .

"What—" he started, but K was staring at Hinata's work; not saying anything simply studying.

Hinata felt hot all over, his work was much worse than K's, and it felt mortifying for him to judge it like it was a competition. K walked up close to it and seemed to be studying it in much closer detail than Shouyou ever would. He looked at the paint like he was looking at a very old friend.

Was K a spray paint whisperer or something?

Once he finished _assessing_ Hinata’s work he came over and stood next to him, crossing his arms and leaning back to observe both of their works.

"So…" K began, as Hinata glanced down at his feet.

"I can't believe it's _you_ ," he interrupted, unable to contain his excitement; one of his favourite artists had just painted with him, and he felt so _unbelievably_ happy. Tagging alone was fun but tonight had made Hinata discover that tagging with another person made him feel _invincible._

“ _K,_ why did you ask me to come here? Out of all the people you could have chosen to tag next to, why _me_ ?"

K stares down at him. He digs his phone out of his pocket out and brings up an Instagram profile; one that is _very_ familiar to Hinata: _Sy_ ∅ _'s_ feed.

He leans so close to Hinata that he can smell a _very familiar_ cologne and begins pointing out he likes about each of his pieces.

“What colour of paint did you use here?” K asks when looking at one of Hinata’s favourite pieces he had ever done: a snake.

“Um— _Krylon Oliver Green_ ” Hinata replies, stumbling over his words a little.

Kageyama scrolls to the next photo in the feed; this time it’s a simple skull in neon pink.

“How did you get those lines so sharp without any drips?” K asks inquisitively, looking over at Hinata expectantly when he doesn’t immediately answer.

“I-it was a stencil,” Hinata answers, looking up at K to see that his eyes are nearly glittering with excitement.

“A stencil?” K asks surprised “must have been so delicate”

Hinata nods in reply, it _was_ an incredibly delicate stencil but the results he got were worth the effort.

Hinata can feel himself getting flustered over the flattery; K wasn’t following him on Instagram, nor did he like any of Hinata's posts so that only left one possibility: _K lurked on his page and knew his username by heart._

"So what?" Hinata asks after K analyzes several more of his pieces in vivid detail.

"You have... _potential_ Sy∅. I haven't wanted to tag this badly in a long time..." K replied, the corners of his eyes crinkled slightly. Because of his mask Hinata couldn’t tell for sure but he thinks K might be smiling. Any average person may have missed it, but since becoming friends with Sakusa he was familiar with what a hidden smile looked like.

_Potential._

_His idol thought he had potential._

"You really think so?" Hinata asks hopefully as he sits down on the nearest stair, taking care to avoid the exposed sharp metal of the handrail.

K sits next to him and the air between them is still. Hinata is at a loss for words and his eyes are pulled to the pieces they had created. He pulls out his phone and snaps a photo of his newest work and takes a moment to crop it; he would post the picture to his feed when he got home.

"Why did you crop mine out?" K asks, suddenly leaning over Hinata's shoulder and glancing down at his phone.

Hinata flinches slightly at K’s sudden proximity, and he shivers at the vibrato in the man's tone, his voice deep and pleasant.

"Huh?" Hinata asked nervously, nearly dropping his phone in the process, but K caught it gracefully. "Oh...um...I just assumed…"

"Assumed _what_ ?" K asks sharply.

"Well... it's _your_ work so shouldn't you be the one to post it?" Hinata asks quizzically.

"Too cool to be associated with me, huh?" K replies eyeing Hinata with suspicion.

Hinata was embarrassed and just about to apologize when he heard K snickering under his breath; Hinata gives him a playful shove and laughs right along with him.

"It's just that…" Hinata begins but stumbles a little "your work…"

He takes a deep breath to center himself before speaking again.

"This is a big deal to me, _okay_ ? Of course I want to be associated with you but… I _know_ you must have seen _all_ my comments…" Hinata says nearly whispering the last part.

K sighs and leans back on his hands and looks up at the moon. The moonlight casts a glow over what little features Hinata can see and K looks so ethereal in this light; even though Hinata can’t see most of his face he just _knows_ in his heart that this man is beautiful.

K was quiet for a long moment, so Hinata joined him in looking at the moon and waited for him to speak again. All he could hear was K's steady breathing beside him and the hum of the street light but it almost felt _comforting._

Hinata took this moment to breathe in deep; the night air was cool and fresh. He squirmed a little where he was sitting; there was something so intimate about being here all alone with K when barely anyone else was awake; the city was so quiet. It was almost as if this moment was _just_ for them.

"Do you want to know why I stopped?" K interrupts, still looking at the moon and not at Hinata.

Hinata jumps a little and his heart races. _Of course he wants to know that._

Hinata turns to K and nods. It seemed odd for K to blindly trust him with something like this and even though there was a particular honour among taggers it could still be risky.

His features twist a little bit under his mask. Whatever he was going to say seemed to be weighing on him.

"You don't have to— " Hinata starts but K interrupts him.

"No. I should tell _someone,"_ K says quietly and lets out a long sigh.

"You might not know this but back in 2015 I was associated with a tagging squad known as _Liegeon;_ we ran together for _years_ but… one night they left me when I got stuck on a fence and no one stopped to help me get free. I escaped but it shook me; I quit immediately after."

Hinata was _shocked_ ; he knew about _Liegeon_ . They were an infamous squad of graffiti artists that had hit Shinjuku over and over until the city had simply left a wall blank for their use to try and curb the property damage. But of course, that was no fun for _Liegeon_ so they had moved on.

"That's terrible… I'm sorry that happened to you." Hinata says softly and K looks at him in surprise.

K sighs shakily "It was my fault… I started expecting too much from them and they resented me for it. I decided to get my life together and I'm a career man now if you can believe it" K says, laughing as if he didn’t even believe it himself.

Hinata balks at that, " _You_ ? Psh, you'd _never_ go corporate."

K pauses for a moment. His face twisting in concentration as if he’s deep in thought before he removes his goggles and reaches for his mask; he carefully pulls it down to reveal his full face.

Hinata found himself staring into Kageyama's familiar face; the man was even more attractive in the soft lumination of the nearby streetlights. It was something that Hinata didn't think was possible. Everything hit him at once - the eyes, the cologne, the height— Hinata found himself overwhelmed.

Hinata gapes at him. He attempts to speak but only manages to gasp for air. There was no way K _could_ be the same person he was thinking of; there was _no way_ those two were the same person.

"How did you know where I work?" Hinata said, sliding away from him a little bit. He was a little bit scared now. _Was he stalking him?_

Kageyama held up his hands when he noticed his discomfort "Relax. I just remembered that an orange-haired guy worked at the coffee shop I go to every morning. I never saw you there so I decided to check one evening after work and I just _happened_ to be right; that's all, I _swear_ ."

Hinata’s not sure why but there’s something about his tone that reassures him; Kageyama’s reason is a little bit strained but fairly reasonable. He calms a little and slides back towards Kageyama once more.

Hinata suddenly remembers their first meeting and turns to Kageyama abruptly; cocking an eyebrow.

"Local police?" Hinata asks, giggling a little bit.

Kageyama groans "My dad is a police officer and gets me to volunteer _because it looks good on my resume_ ; I was so tired that night that I sounded like a complete idiot."

Hinata gasps in realization "So wait… am I actually a topic of conversation at the station?"

"Nah… I just didn't wanna come off as a creep" Kageyama replies simply, a tiny smile on his lips.

 _Oh,_ that smile did things to him. Hinata averted his eyes and felt a blush creeping its way up to his neck to his ears.

"Well… at least it makes more sense why you let me go now."

"How else was I going to be able to train you, dumbass?" Kageyama says, looking at Hinata with a mocking, challenging expression.

"Train me?" Hinata asks breathlessly and Kageyama just nods in agreement.

"Wait, did you just call me a dumbass?" Hinata asks, shocked and their conversation devolves into laughter. They end up talking for another hour and soon both of them start to nod off. They pack up their gear and make tentative plans to meet up again.

Hinata takes another photo of the wall with both their pieces in frame and waves goodbye to Kageyama. He posts it on his walk home and tags Kageyama in it with the caption _welcome back._

Hinata can't help but run all the way home; his veins pumping with adrenaline from how fantastic the night was. As he gets in the door he shucks his gear and checks his notifications to see that he has two of them. One is that _K4GE_ liked the photo and the other is a DM which also happens to be from K4GE.

> **K4GE:** _good night, Hinata._

He smiles at the message, shooting back a _see you later_ and noticing that Kageyama liked his reply almost immediately.

Hinata collapses into bed and falls asleep almost immediately. That night he dreams of painting with Kageyama as if in perfect synchronicity. All the colours blend seamlessly and it's so beautiful that Hinata is disappointed when he wakes to the blaring of his alarm. It takes him a moment to realise that it’s the ringtone of his third alarm and that he must have slept through the first two. He blearily reaches for his phone and after turning off his alarm he checks his notifications. The number of Instagram likes, comments, and DMs he has are off the charts.

 _What the fuck?!_ His mind raced until he remembered the photo he posted last night. He groans as he clears all of his notifications; most of them are all-caps comments of people in disbelief and the occasional thirst comment of ' _is k4ge hot…'._

He rolls his eyes, tossing his phone onto his bed before heading for his shower. He takes extra time to scrape any paint from under his nails and then quickly towels off and grabs the closest pieces of clothing he can find. Today that happens to be a pair of blue jeans and a plain dark green tee.

He pulls on a hoodie (one from his former art school) and leaves his apartment; locking the door before heading out. As he walks to work he spaces out several times thinking about the night before; it felt so amazing to finally know _who_ K4GE was. He felt a little bit smug that his notifications and dms were blowing up with people _demanding_ he tell them everything but he just ignored them; this was for something Kageyama trusted him with, and he wasn’t about to ruin everything.

He clears his massive amount of notifications and before he knows it he’s standing in front of _Memento Mori._ He takes a deep breath before entering; he would have to put on his best poker face to not just immediately gush as soon as he saw Atsumu. Hinata heads to the back of the shop and puts on his apron, greeting Sakusa before heading to the front to wait for his shift to start.

Atsumu arrives shortly after him and has a look in his eye that says _I need to talk to you. Now._ Hinata stands up a little straighter and pockets his phone and waits for Atsumu to put on his apron and store his belongings. Could it possibly be that Atsumu had _finally_ spoken to Sakusa about his feelings and needed to talk to him about it? Or was this to do with his midnight jaunt with Kageyama last night. _Did Atsumu follow his tagging account?_

Before Hinata has time to fully think it over, Atsumu is briskly walking over to him.

"What the fuck _happened_ last night?" Atsumu asks, whispering harshly at him.

 _Ah_ . So not a miraculous confession then.

"What are you talking about?" Hinata replies, looking as innocent as he can and Atsumu elbows him in the ribs.

"You _know_ what I'm talkin' about, Shouyou; I _saw your post—_ did you seriously meet a _stranger_ alone last night?" Atsumu asks, chastising him. "do you know how _dangerous_ that was?"

Hinata nods in agreement. It _was_ a stupid thing to do, but sometimes you just had to take a chance.

"It turned out fine I _swear_ . He turned out to be super cool and I just _had_ to go Atsumu; you don't understand…"

"Oh… I think I _do_ . If Sakusa invited me to a dark location in the middle of the night I'd go in a heartbeat, but I _know_ him Shouyou and that's different." he said shaking his head as if he got caught up in his own reverie.

"Oh well. At least you're safe. Was he _hot?"_ Atsumu asks, raising his eyebrows. Hinata laughed; it really hadn’t taken much for Atsumu to return to his usual snarky self.

Hinata just smiled and shrugged; Kageyama _was_ attractive. Did the secret identity thing help? _Yes_ .

Their conversation was cut short by the familiar chime of the door and Hinata turned over to look at who was entering the cafe. As if on queue Kageyama walked into the shop looking just as sharp as he always did. Today he opted for a completely black, slim-cut suit and his hair was slicked back carefully; to Hinata's surprise he wasn’t wearing glasses today. He stepped up to the counter to order.

“Want me to get Shouyou to make you yer usual?" Atsumu asked in his usual drawl, looking up at Kageyama expectantly.

"Actually I was hoping he could surprise me?” Kageyama asked, looking over at Hinata.

Atsumu gave Hinata a knowing look and Hinata started to make his favourite custom drink. It was called the _moonless night;_ a double shot of espresso, milk steamed _very_ hot and the dark chocolate syrup that he got Sakusa to special order in just for him. Hinata only made it on special occasions _or_ if he had something to prove (like right now).

Hinata could feel eyes on him as he worked but remained hyperfocused on his task; he mixed with precision as always. Once he was finished he slid the cup across the counter and smiled up at Kageyama.

"Have a good day Kageyama." he said cheerfully.

"You too Hinata" Kageyama replied and then promptly left the shop after a curt nod.

Atsumu just gave him a _significant_ look but kept his thoughts to himself and kept serving customers. During one of the lulls between customers Hinata checked his notifications and saw that he had a dm from K4GE.

> **Kageyama** : _that drink was delicious_

Hinata brightened at the praise and smiled as he tapped out a response.

> **Hinata** : _thank you_ _! it's a specialty of mine_ _＼(￣▽￣)／_

> **Hinata** : _why are you dressed so nice today?_

> **Kageyama** : _i always wear a suit?_

Hinata flushed; _why don’t you just call him sexy Shouyou_ he thought to himself as he agonized over a reply, but mercifully another message came in from Kageyama.

> **Kageyama** : _i had a presentation today_

> **Hinata** : _sounds boring_

> **Kageyama** : _it was_

Hinata pockets his phone and thinks about what it would be like to see Kageyama at work. Something about the thought of Kageyama giving a serious presentation made him giggle a little bit; especially when he knew what kind of person he was under that serious exterior. Kageyama likely had his own office too. From the way Kageyama dressed Hinata could tell he was probably a little well off; Hinata wondered what kind of fabric his suits were made from; was he more into silk or wool? Did he button the top button of his shirts before putting on a tie? Did he like—

Hinata’s daydreaming was _thankfully_ interrupted by Atsumu when he placed a cup on top of Hinata’s machine and told him the next order. Hinata had _definitely_ spaced out in front of his espresso machine. Hinata’s thirst for Kageyama seemed to only grow with each passing day and from where his thoughts were heading he might have to reexamine if he had a _thing_ for suits.

The rest of their shift passed without much incident. It was Friday which meant Atsumu was coming over to Hinata’s to watch several trashy movies and eat some takeaway. Hinata looked forward to Friday nights as it was fair game to discuss any terrible customers they had during the week but also a time to talk about their crushes at length.

Well, Atsumu talked about Sakusa at length anyway. Hinata didn’t often have crushes since it was difficult to meet new people outside of work and dating anyone while working nights was always hit or miss. But it never bothered him to listen to Atsumu discuss Sakusa’s hotness in great detail. Hinata could tell that he was _so_ close to confessing to Sakusa and Hinata always did his best to encourage him.

Tonight however, it seemed that Atsumu had a different plan; after they got into Hinata’s apartment, put on the movie and began eating, the questioning started.

“So ya got a crush on that Kageyama guy dontcha?” Atsumu said teasingly as he popped a gyoza in his mouth.

Hinata dropped the karaage he was holding with his chopstick and glanced over at Atsumu. _Was he really that obvious?_

“N-No” he managed but averted his eyes from Atsumu. _Shit._

Atsumu just laughed.

“What about that K4GE guy?”

“What about him?” Hinata answered just a _little_ too quickly.

Atsumu eyed him with suspicion.

“Well, dontcha like _him_ ?”

“I mean… yeah. I can have a crush on more than one person right?” Hinata said nervously, barely maintaining composure since he _really_ only liked one person but he wasn’t about to explain to Atsumu that Kageyama and K4GE were the same person just yet.

“Ohoho” Atsumu teased, nudging him with his elbow.

Hinata sighed; he was definitely in for a long night of talking but he supposed it would be fun to be the one speaking and not just listening for once.

They watched several movies and talked late into the night. Hinata woke up slightly uncomfortable and found that they both had fallen asleep on the couch the night before. He got up first and managed to find enough ingredients for a simple breakfast of omurice that should feed the two of them. When the food was ready, he sat the plate down in front of Atsumu and shook him awake. Atsumu groaned but sat up; he had an afternoon shift with Sakusa at the coffee shop so he left as soon as he was done eating.

Once Atsumu was gone Hinata searched for his phone and found it shoved between the couch cushions; he hadn’t bothered to look for it right away since breakfast seemed a little more important at the time.

He reclined back on the couch and checked all his notifications; most of them were just post notifications but his stomach flips when he notices he has a dm from last night from Kageyama; he was so caught up in his talks with Atsumu the night before that he must have missed it.

> **Kageyama** : _hey, are you around tonight?_

Hinata is a little sad that he missed out on what he’s sure would have been an awesome night of tagging with Kageyama, but he wouldn’t miss out on Friday night hangouts with Atsumu for anything.

Hinata’s heart thumps a little harder as he types out a reply; It takes a few attempts but he decides to go with something simple.

> **Hinata:** _good morning~_

Just as he goes to lock his phone and put it in his pocket he notices that Kageyama is typing. His heart flutters as he waits for the reply to come in and he can’t tear his eyes away from the screen.

> **Kageyama:** _you're up early today_

Hinata laughed; it was approaching 1 pm and definitely not _early._

> **Hinata:** _are you watching me :o_

> **Kageyama:** _dumbass, you work evenings i was just surprised_

> **Hinata:** _i know :P are you working today?_

> **Kageyama:** _no. i’m just getting groceries_

_Cute._ Hinata got an idea and decided to just go for it; maybe it was because Hinata had just woken up but but _fuck it_ .

> **Hinata:** _do you wanna go out tonight?_

Hinata could see Kageyama typing and stopping for several moments but eventually he got a reply.

> **Kageyama:** _sure. same place and time?_

> **Hinata:** _yeah! i’ll bring coffee_

> **Kageyama:** _sounds good_

* * *

Hinata’s initial invitation must have sparked something in Kageyama because they soon found themselves going to the skatepark every Saturday night to hone their art skills _and_ venturing out a couple nights a week on tagging runs.

Kageyama still did some patrols for his "volunteer" police work and Hinata even began joining him for those. They walked around talking for hours which Hinata enjoyed immensely; it was nice to get to know _Kageyama_ and not just _K4GE._

One evening Kageyama had pointed out to Hinata that he should probably get a haircut soon and Hinata had casually mentioned that he’d make an appointment with _Miwa-san_ . Kageyama had smirked at him as he took out his phone to show him a wedding photo; Hinata was initially confused but when Kageyama zoomed in he immediately recognized Miwa-san as the bride. Kageyama then revealed that Miwa was actually his _sister._ Hinata was shocked; he didn’t think that Tokyo was that small.

Over time Kageyama showed him lots of new techniques that helped Hinata improve his skills and together they'd even designed a new tag that interlocked the letters of their names. Hinata felt incredibly honoured to be collaborating with him like this.

It took a few Saturdays for Kageyama to notice that Hinata coughed and got light-headed from the paint fumes and he surprised Hinata the following day with a mask much like his own. The only difference was the colour as it was purple instead of black and it suited Hinata’s gear perfectly. Hinata was touched by Kageyama's concern and thanked him profusely for the gift. His body moved on its own that day and he found himself hugging Kageyama without thinking it through. Hinata thought he had made a mistake initially but Kageyama hugged him back and muttered into his ear that it was no problem at all.

After he got home that night he was hit with the realization that maybe his feelings for Kageyama were way beyond being a _fan_ of his work or even a silly crush; he could feel himself falling _hard_ could tell it was different this time. When he was with Kageyama he felt like he could truly be himself and he loved every single moment they were together. But who could he ask about matters of the heart? Most of his friends were just as single and unhappy as he was— well, all except _one_ .

* * *

The next day he got to the shop in record time. Bokuto was still dealing with customers, so Hinata got in line and, once he got to the counter, he asked for Bokuto's specialty drink; a hazelnut and almond latte with extra espresso. Sakusa was making drinks today because someone had called in and made Hinata’s drink efficiently, writing _Shouyou_ on the cup in a pretty cursive script before handing it to him.

Hinata took a sip and gave Sakusa a thumbs up. He could tell Sakusa flushed slightly under his mask but he remained silent and just nodded at him.

"Sakusa can I borrow Bokuto for a sec?" Hinata asked hesitantly but Sakusa just looked over at Bokuto and waved him over to Hinata.

Bokuto excitedly came around the counter and scooped Hinata up in a big hug. Bokuto was very affectionate and felt like everyone's brother, making the shop feel even more like home to Shouyou. Hinata motioned for Bokuto to follow him and they sat at one of the booths towards the back corner of the shop. The seats were not only comfy, but they also afforded some privacy for their conversation.

Hinata slid into the booth and Bokuto mirrored him, sitting across from him and waited patiently for Hinata to begin. Hinata wrung his hands together nervously as he tried to steady his racing thoughts. He wasn’t sure how to bring this up; it was the first time he’d ever felt something close to _love_ and putting a label on his feelings seemed nearly impossible.

"What's up?" Bokuto asked expectantly.

"So… I think I like someone." Hinata began and before he could say more he saw the glint in Bokuto's eyes.

"Ooh! Who are they? Anybody I know?" he asked, smiling widely at Hinata.

Hinata couldn’t help but return his smile. Bokuto knew that Hinata was Pansexual and was always so considerate as to not assume the gender of the object of his crush when Hinata on occasion came to him asking for relationship advice.

"Bokuto-san, how do you _know_ if someone likes you? It's usually really obvious to me, but this time I just can’t tell."

Bokuto thought hard for a while, scratching his head.

"Hmmm… with Keiji, we were a bit hopeless for a while” he began, smiling fondly.

Hinata sighed; he could sort of relate to that. The hug he had with Kageyama was nice but _friends_ hugged each other all the time so it wasn’t that weird.

“Keiji one day just asked me what was wrong and I couldn’t hold it in any longer and I think I might have yelled my feelings at him.” Bokuto blushed a little bit. “I remember his laughter when I told him though and I thought he turned me down, but it turned out that he was just so relieved that I felt the same.”

Hinata couldn’t help but smile at that. Love wasn't a comfortable feeling.

“I think you should tell him,” Bokuto said encouragingly.

Hinata nodded but he was still unsure.

“You really think so? It just seems impossible that he would like me back.”

“Nothing’s impossible, Shouyou,” Bokuto replies, patting him on the shoulder. Hinata nods in dazed agreement, and then Bokuto is called back to the counter by Sakusa, leaving Hinata alone with his drink _and_ thoughts.

Hinata had tried dating; however, almost all of his dates ended with Hinata gaining a new friend. He had yet to feel that _spark_ with anyone.

Hinata knew that something felt different with Kageyama, but his feelings were so muddled. There was certainly an attraction there; Hinata found him incredibly handsome both as K4GE _and_ Kageyama, but what he felt was anything but shallow.

Kageyama inspired Hinata to work hard and be the best possible version of himself. When they were together, he lit a fire under him like no one else ever had.

_Was this what love felt like?_

* * *

The next time they meet up at the skatepark to paint, they're out of sync and things are _tense_ . Shouyou isn't sure if it's him or Kageyama but something is _off_ .

"What the _fuck_ is your deal today!" Kageyama says, his exasperation leaking through.

"What's _my_ deal! What's with _you!"_ he replies bitterly, marching right up to Kageyama and staring him dead in the eyes.

Kageyama’s breath is ragged as he stares back into Hinata’s eyes but then he suddenly looks away and then tosses the can he's holding into his bag.

"Thanks for everything," he says in a quiet tone, and something about his voice doesn’t sound right to Hinata. _Why does it sound as if—_

"Wait— why does it sound like you're saying goodbye?" Hinata asks, flustered and puzzled at this sudden shift.

"I can't do this anymore…" Kageyama says emotionless, turning away from him.

"Did something happen?" Hinata asks hesitantly.

"Look, okay… I just—can't." Kageyama snaps back.

"So you're giving up?"

"I've told you! This life isn't for me anymore.” Kageyama paused for a moment as his voice shook “It's your time now".

"Not for you anymore? Do you think you're the only one who lives with _regrets?"_ Hinata bit back angrily, grabbing Kageyama’s arm and whipping him around again to face him again.

Kageyama’s eyes are wide at the boldness of Hinata’s actions and initially he can feel him tense under his grip but after a moment he relaxes and Hinata lets go of his arm. Kageyama seems to have calmed slightly and he waits patiently for Hinata to catch his breath before continuing.

Hinata leans against the railing of the stairs and Kageyama stands across from him, expression open and focused, as if he really wanted to absorb what Hinata had to say.

“When I first moved to Tokyo, I originally came here to become an Architect— but I _really_ didn’t do well in university so I had to drop out. I’ve been a barista ever since. All I’ve ever wanted was to make others happy with my art— and art school just wasn’t it y’know?” Hinata said sadly, his voice a little pained.

Kageyama sighs. "Parallel lives, huh?"

Hinata smiled ruefully. "Yeah."

"So, you regret it?" Kageyama asked apologetically, almost as if Hinata’s words also resonated with him.

"Sometimes, you know? It's hard not to. I could have a much better life than I do now, but I also think that I'm way happier this way; I don't do anything I don't want to do and there’s a certain freedom to that." Hinata says, sighing and staring up at the stars.

Kageyama is silent for a long while too but joins him in his stargazing. Of all the infinite timelines they could have had, this was the one they met in, and Hinata was beyond grateful for that.

"Please don't stop— look how much fun we have together." Hinata says sadly, breaking the silence.

They glance at the art they’ve created together. They're all _wonderful_ . The colours they chose complimented each other’s styles perfectly and even though there were many different techniques used, they always managed to create a cohesive cooperative piece together. Hinata had to admit that they worked well together, Kageyama’s painting blended effortlessly with his and it was almost like they were both born to do this _together_ .

Hinata’s heart pained for more of this; the thrill of hanging out with a friend at night, afraid to get caught was something he'd been missing in his life for a while now and knew deep down this was it, but it was scary going back into something you loved when you got hurt the last time.

His eyes met Hinata’s., "I just—” he pauses in frustration and takes a breath. “I can't get hurt again."

His gaze met Kageyama’s head on and Hinata did his best to convey that he was listening.

"Someone contacted me, and it reminded me why I left in the first place."

"But it's _different_ now right?" Hinata blurts out "You can't just show up and make me happier than I've been in a long time and… and leave when—" his voice cracks before he can finish.

"When _what?_ " Kageyama says quietly, cocking an eyebrow inquisitively at Hinata.

"When I need you okay? I _need_ you Kageyama; let's keep working on this piece, and if you don't feel anything, I'll... I'll let you go." Hinata choked out.

He could feel tears stinging at the corners of his eyes at the _thought_ of never hanging out with Kageyama again; never painting together again. Hinata shuddered at the thought but shook off his feelings of doubt and focused on the task at hand.

Kageyama looked to be in thought as he furrowed his brow and then nodded; that seemed a fair proposition.

That night they paint even closer to one another than usual; Hinata can feel the heat of his body standing behind him and he shivers when he feelsKageyama's breath on his neck . Kageyama leans over him as he paints with extreme focus. He directs Hinata's work a little bit but this time seems to be letting his creativity flow.

After the last clean line was sprayed they both step back to get a better look at what they created together. It’s a beautifully intricate sun and moon that blends seamlessly together and, to Hinata’s surprise, there is no outward sign that it was made by two separate people.

Hinata was in awe.

It’s their _best_ work yet.

"Wow, it's _beautiful_ ," he says breathlessly, glancing over at Kageyama. But Kageyama isn’t even looking at their art; instead he's looking at him with teary eyes, a small smile on his face.

"Yeah, it is" he says quietly, and Hinata notices that Kageyama's pupils are blown wide and that he's approaching him cautiously; Hinata looks up when he’s close enough and Kageyama is glancing at his lips now.

Kageyama pulls his mask down, waiting for a reply to his silent question, but no words are necessary, and Hinata gives a small nod, meeting Kageyama's intense gaze. Hinata's breath catches in his throat as he waits, also pulling down his mask, looking up at Kageyama, an open invitation for him to do something.

Kageyama leans in and first presses a gentle kiss to his lips before cradling his head in both hands. It's achingly delicate, and Hinata swoons at the intimacy of it. Kageyama's being so careful with Hinata as if he's scared he might break, but Hinata is much stronger than that.

He fists his hands in Kageyama's hair, pulling him closer and kisses him fiercely; it's messy, but Hinata _needs_ to show Kageyama what he'll be missing him if he does decide to quit.

Kageyama gets the message because he pins Hinata against the wall next to their art, taking the opportunity to slip his tongue in Hinata's mouth when he is momentarily surprised by the boldness of his action. Kageyama kisses him like he's a man deprived of water on a desert island like he can't possibly get enough. Hinata obliges him gladly. It’d been a _long_ time since he'd been kissed so thoroughly.

Eventually, they have to break for air and Kageyama leans back to look him in the eyes, interlacing their fingers together and looking at him with unabashed fondness.

"Where have you been all my life?" he blurts out, and Hinata beams at him.

"Waiting for you to catch me," he replies shakily, letting out a soft sigh as Kageyama hugs him tightly. Kageyama is quivering as if he’s afraid that Hinata will bolt from him at any moment, but he never would.

Hinata had spent enough time running, and thought that maybe just this once, being caught wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

  
  



End file.
